Two Stupid Boxers
by happysquid008
Summary: Sendo X Ippo. Sendo seriously injures himself, and Makunouchi goes to Osaka to straighten him out. Rated T for language and suggestive themes.
1. The Beginning of it All

~~~~~~~happysquid08~~~~~~~

Title: Two Stupid Boxers

Pairing: SendoxIppo

Rating: T just to be safe, for language and for "suggestive" themes

Warning: I have unfortunately misplaced my voodoo doll that controls and owns Hajime no Ippo.

...

Sendo sighed. It really sucked living in Osaka. All of the people of Kamogawa were probably having a heckuvva time in Tokyo, and he was lying on his bed doing nothing.

He got up to run.

He went past the subway, past the ramen shop. He waved to the people who sold miniature action figures of him. They stopped him to ask for his autograph again, and he willfully complied.

"Rocky! Rocky!" Voices called to him throughout the streets. "Win it! Go for it! We'll be cheering for you!"

He sweat-dropped. He didn't have another match for what seemed like an eternity. But what the hell. He waved and smiled anyway.

He reached the gym, and then was promptly kicked out.

The coach was so angry he decided to come out and talk to him.

"_Sendo!_ You can't just _run around_! You have _wounds!_ They need _healing!_ If you come to this gym again in three months _at_ _all_, _God forgive me_…"

Sendo decided he wasn't going to take no crap. (grammar is incorrect on purpose)

"_Hey!_ I'm _bored!_ You can't expect me to just – just – _sit_ there!"

The coach just sighed and walked back into the gym. "Yes, that's actually what I expect. From a _regular_ boxer. After that beating you took, idiot, I'm surprised you're not dead…"

Sendo didn't have anything to say to that. But he felt proud.

Then he snuck around to the back of the gym and went in through the side door. It was innocent enough; he wasn't even going to coerce someone to spar with him. Just hit the sandbag for an hour. Maybe even jump rope for two or three.

It's not like he was _dead_. He _had_ to move his body or he felt _restless._

He'd been hitting the sandbag in the back room for about twenty minutes when one of his kouhai walked in, saw the blood dripping, and decided to be a brat and tell the coach.

When Sendo's head stopped spinning, he figured he'd beat up that damn kid…

All of a sudden the floor came rushing up to meet him, and he had just enough time to mutter:

"…Damn kouhai."

...

It was hours later before he woke up. He was in a white room, with strange people wearing white masks. He decided he wanted to punch the one who came closest, just for the heck of it, but when he tried, his arms refused to move.

" Hey everyone, he's awake."

"Damn, you think he feels the pain?"

"We should give him some more of this so he goes back into dreamland. Just in case."

"Yeah, here…"

Sendo felt shooting pains throughout his entire body, for what seemed like forever.

Then everything went black. Sendo was still awake, but his eyes closed. He couldn't open them. He decided to slowly just fade away, giving in to the darkness.

He figured he'd be okay when he could move again. He figured he'd punch out the brains of that damn kouhai when he was mobile. The _second_ he was mobile.

Why do I want to punch him out? Who cares? Well, he's a tattletale and should rightfully be mugged and possibly tortured.

Why I oughta…

The he slipped away to sleep.

...

Hm, what's that smell? Oh, it's just the smell of hospital. I guess I was in another match or something. Oh, wait, I'm starting to remember something.

_Damn kouhai. I'll kill 'im._

Okay! I remember. I'm awake again. But I still can't see anything. I guess my eyes are still closed. Damn. I guess I can't punch my damn kouhai yet. Oh well. The day of repentance shall soon be at hand.

"Sendo… Sendo…"

What? Who was that?

"Sendo, you idiot…"

I tried to raise my hand, to punch that idiot. I am certainly not an idiot. Then I remembered that I happened to be immobile. I guess I am an idiot. Hey, was that supposed to be a deep epiphany or something that you have when you are incapacitated? It was kind of weak. And derogatory. Oh well. I guess it's the best my mind can come up with.

"…Sendo."

I vaguely remembered that someone was calling me an idiot. And possibly crying. And also possibly a very pretty girl. And… maybe… it could be…

_Could it be Ippo?_

Naw, why would he just randomly show up? It couldn't be.

Just to make sure…

I wrenched open my eyes with the force of a megaton bomb. The light that pervaded my irises instantly blinded me again, and they blinked slowly a couple of times before they adjusted. I was in a hospital room, and the bright white light on the bright white ceiling glared down at me. An IV was in my arm, and I noticed that something was beating. I listened a bit, and found that it was my pulse on a screen.

I watched the green, pointy line go up and down, up and down, up and up and down and down. It sped up as I remembered for a second time that someone else was in the room.

Craning my neck, I saw my arm protrude from my shoulder. My hand stuck out awkwardly from its wrist, a taped tube set in the middle of my inner elbow.

I monumentally flung my head in the other direction. Again, on my shoulder was unceremoniously perched an arm, with a hand connected to it. On this hand, however, there was an alien visitor. I should get a ton of money and a medal. I have discovered that aliens do exist. This one is definitely from Mars. It's green and has two big black eyes. Like in the movies I saw.

Then the alien became a hand. A medium-sized hand. A nice hand. A tanned hand. Was it really tan? Who knows, the light from the ceiling wasn't that good. The alien that the hand belonged to leaned in, but I couldn't see a face.

"Sendo…"

I recognized my name. I tried to speak. All that came out was: "Whuyduzenariennenomaineme…"

I don't think even a human being would have understood. The alien certainly seemed very puzzled. I decided to clarify. Aliens that know your name probably have studied your language.

"…Why…" I paused for both dramatic effect and the fact that it took a monumental effort just to hold up my head, much less speak.

"Does…an alien…" I paused again. "Know…my …name?" Out of breath, I flopped my head back down on my pillow.

The last thing I heard before I passed out was a voice.

"I'm not an alien, Sendo. I'm Makunouchi Ippo. I've come to visit you in the hospital. Don't you remember me? Makunouchi Ippo?"

Then everything went crazy in my head. Explosions went off and flowers burned to the ground in droves. Children singing songs. Muscle men counting out lifts. Money chinking into other money. Hats falling from the sky. Giant music notes jumping over smaller ones. Liquor dripping from the sky as rain is passed around in secret among underage drinkers. Frogs flying through the air as birds swim through ponds.

The last thing I saw…

Was Ippo's face.

Then everything stopped.

I do believe I smiled as my mind faded away.

...

"I'm Ippo! Makunouchi Ippo! Remember? Sendo! Wake up! Sendo!"

I think it's two o'clock in the morning. I'm not really sure though. I've been here for at least three days, so my inner time is skewed. Ever since I saw his eyes open, I haven't stopped talking to him. The nurses have been stopping by every ten minutes, just in case he does wake up again. They say he's not supposed to wake up, because then he'd just go off on his own again and train. And probably hurt himself.

I don't care. I'd rather see a stupid, loud, aggravating Sendo that's trying really hard to improve than a Sendo that's sitting listlessly in bed.

His coach has reminded me several times that it was really close this time. This time, Sendo almost died. I know that. I know…

But if he wakes up, I'd feel so much better.

If he wakes up, I'd force him to stay in bed, I don' care if he hates me or something for it. I just want to have him awake again.

I didn't realize tears had formed in my eyes until they streamed down my face.

...

"How long has Makunouchi been here?"

"I don't know, like, five or six days."

"Has he left the room once?"

"…Nope."

"…He should probably eat some more. No use having two great boxers waste away in a hospital. I'll invite him over to our gym."

"Yeah, good. That's very good."

"But do you think he'll go?"

"You know what? I have no idea."

...

"Makunouchi-kun."

Ippo turned around slowly.

"Hai?"

"Would you mind visiting our gym and sparring with some of our boxers? It would be a great help. They have matches coming up and they really need more experience fighting infighters like yourself –"

"…I'm sorry."

Ippo slumped down in his chair.

"I'm… sorry."

The coach looked dejectedly at the floor. It looked like there was only one option.

"…Makunouchi-kun?"

"Hai?"

"If I had the nurses lessen the pain meds that are knocking him out, would you take care of him and make sure he doesn't hurt himself again?"

Ippo started.

Then smiled.

"Hai! Please let me!"

...

Again, the outside noises. Except this time, there were a lot more, and they were all jumbled together. I couldn't tell if they were even real. I couldn't tell if anything was real at the moment. I'd been on those drugs far too long and seen way to many crazy things on them that I wasn't sure if spit was spit or boxing was boxing.

That's how addled my brains were.

That's how I realized I was probably still on drugs.

I opened my eyes.

"Boxing is boxing, you idiot." I smacked myself in the forehead. "How could you say you're not sure?"

I paused for another second, then crossed my arms defiantly. " And spit is definitely spit. No doubts about that."

My head was suddenly crystal clear again as I declared these obvious statements. Of course. Boxing is spit and spit is aliens.

Wait, what?

Maybe I am still on drugs.

Wait, _what? Aliens?_ What led to _that_ thought process?

Oh well. At least I'm awake and mobile.

"Wait, I'm mobile? Where's that damn kouhai?!"

I didn't realize I said it out loud until I heard my voice. And by then it was too late. The sentence was finished. I had already sounded like an asylum regular, what with my "spit is spit."

Oh well. The listeners would just be pounded violently into the ground.

I stiffened as I heard a noise. Well, a lot of noises. All at once. A second before it had been silent. I glanced upward, and saw a multitude of my fans and family from both the gym and city all huddled around my bed. I grinned as they attacked me with their hugs and kisses.

Then…

I saw Ippo. He was among the throng, but I guess he didn't consider himself personally close enough to me to hug me. I stopped, and cocked my head.

"Makunouchi…?"

He started, and looked straight into my eyes. The crowd tittered and then fell silent.

"You…"

He looked down, presumably because he couldn't deal with the immense pressure from our audience. I took a deep breath.

"You wanna _fight?!?!_ Right here, right now? Let's _go_! I'm _ready_! I can _take_ you!" If anything, I don't think Ippo was expecting that. He looked up suddenly again with an ' o' for his mouth. " I have this _new technique _– you'll _love it_, I'll show you in our fight – _oh_! But did you fight that idiot Miyata yet? I bet you taught _him_ a thing or two if ya did – brains don't _always_ win against brawn, ya know – and by golly gee, _why_ aren't we fighting yet? I don't care where it is or whatever, we could have it here, at the gym, in the hallway, in a bathroom, let's just _fight_, my blood is _boiling_, come _on_, Makunouchi – !!!"

A hand stole up to my face and covered my mouth. It was Ippo's hand, and he was blushing profusely.

"Sendo, you can't fight in that condition! We'll fight again when you've healed."

"What the bloody _hell_, Ippo? I wanna _fight_, dammit!"

Ippo thought for a minute, socked me right in the head, and I passed out again.

...

"…Makunouchi-san, why did you just wham our idol in the head?"

I paused. Considered my options carefully. About thirty of them, near bloodthirsty. One of me, still hurting from my last fight. One totally smashed Sendo. One totally botched operation.

"…" We just looked at each other. Me versus the Mob.

Then I thought of something.

" He isn't thinking clearly. I think he should go home asleep, and then we can start talking things out rationally. He can't fight in that condition. It's not safe. He could get seriously hurt, and I want…"

I just wanted Sendo to be his loud, annoying self.

"…I want to be able to fight him in the ring again, on equal terms. He needs to recover."

The Mob just looked at me for a moment as one entity. They seemed to be judging me, and weighing pros and cons. Hopefully I had filled everything in.

After what seemed like an eternity, The Mob began filing out.

I was careful to not act as if I was relieved (because I didn't get mauled) until all of them left (so I _wouldn't_ get mauled). After I was the only one left, I gave a sigh and a mini-fist pump.

"That was… Thanks, Makunouchi."

I gasped. I flung my head around, and upon seeing no one, slowly turned to face Sendo, who was lying on his hospital bed with his eyes closed.

"Sendo-san!"

There was no response. I decided to check if he was actually faking.

"Sendo-san? If you can hear me, could you please…"

I paused. What would _really_ rile him if he could hear me?

"…Marry me?"

I blushed. Kumi-san had not even heard that come out of my mouth yet.

I carefully gauged his response.

All he did was smile.

I still wasn't sure if he heard me or not.

...

When I finally woke up, my head was pounding. It felt like I had taken one of Ippo's punches, it hurt so bad.

Oh. Ippo.

I _did_ take one of his punches.

Cool, my instincts are razor-sharp! Just like one of those anime characters with amazing ninja skillz! Tizzight! I should try out for a ninja show, like that Ninja Warrior thing on TV! If I won, I could add that to my resume when I go job-hunting!

Wait. That's not the point. Ippo hit me. Where was it? Wait, where am I now?

I looked around. I was in my own home, my own room. I was dressed in my own pajamas. I made sure I was alone this time, just in case. I was, thank god.

I sighed, then leaned back into my bed again, fingers laced behind my head.

"Jesus. I really screwed up again, didn't I?" I kept glancing around. I don't like it when people hear me talking to myself. But I can't stop talking, because it feels good to put things in your mind in order. I like hearing my thoughts; I'm better at thinking out loud than keeping everything inside myself. "I almost died, didn't I?"

"…All of them looked so relieved to see me awake…"

I closed my eyes.

"I must've really worried them…"

My eyes popped open.

"Oh yeah! Ippo was there! Why the hell was Ippo there? He didn't need t' be there! And why the hell did he just sock me in the head? Doesn't he know it needs to be a fair fight or not at all?" I fumed a bit before it hit me – Ippo must've just wanted me to shut up and heal, instead of fighting him. "God, I'm an idiot," I said. "It wouldn't have been a fair fight at all. He would've beaten the crap outta me. I was sittin' in a _hospital bed_, for Christ's sake!"

I turned over onto my side.

Then my head exploded.

No really. It exploded. Like, ka-_bam!_

With pain.

I heard someone screaming, and of course, as it always is in these cliché pain escapades, it was _me_ screaming. I didn't expect it to be anyone else, but it surprised me because I didn't notice that I was screaming until I heard myself. And damn, was I loud.

I do believe that I was in a great amount of pain, so much so that I couldn't see straight. I couldn't move either. The blood from my head was staining the white sheet, slowly, in an all-encompassing splurge, and ran to the edge and ripped down the side, to the floor. I wondered whether Ippo was still in Osaka. Then I wondered why I wondered that. It didn't matter, because he was right next to me. Wait.

Ippo.

Was right next to me.

?

Oh well…

The pain is blotting everything else out…

Even _boxing_ doesn't prepare someone for _this_ kinda pain…

All I could hear was Makunouchi's voice saying my name…

Sendo…Sendo…Sendo…Sendo…

...

All I heard was a scream, and then I was instantly in his room, by his side, calling out his name.

It was a terrible scream, a man's scream, one that only surfaces in near-death situations. I knew it the moment I heard it, even though I had never heard it before.

It was…full of pain. And…it was lonely, too.

It was more like an animal's desperate howl than anything else.

Looking down at Sendo, bloody and battered. Looking at anything but his head injury. Looking at his eyes, his mouth. Not his temple. Not the insistent, greedy blood flowing out of it. Not the hand that reached up to mine, but the eyes, full of pain, full of something deeper.

I rebound his head quickly after I realized that there was no time to waste. I decided that it was a stupid thing I was doing. Stupid, stupid, stupid. I'm not supposed to think things out like that. Bandaging him would be a good idea. Blood is really difficult to get out of the floor. Sendo is Sendo, and he's perfectly capable of telling me what he wants me to know. If he's lonely, then he should tell me. Otherwise it's not my problem.

Hours afterward, Sendo woke up again. He opened his eyes slowly and cautiously, careful of anything and everything. His eyes darted back and forth, like a sly cat. I kneeled down next to him. He started.

"Yo, Makunouchi."

"Ohayo-gozaimas!"

He sat up.

"Mmmmmmmg…" He yawned. "I feel terrible…"

"Ah! Sendo, you can't move so suddenly! Your wound might reopen! Careful! You have to slowly – Slowly, I said, lay back down! No, stop! Don't try to – Sendo! Get back in bed! Don't run – ah."

"Free at last! I'm free at last! Thank God Almighty ah'm FUH-REEEEEE at last!" Sendo proclaimed to the world on his trusty bicycle. He knew Ippo would follow him, so he decided to make it all the harder for Makunouchi the boxer to catch up.

...

"Let's see…Where should I go?" Looking down, Sendo saw he was still in his pajamas.

"Oh well. I guess I'll go ask someone for an extra pair of clothes…" He stopped to think. "No, then Ippo would catch up with me… Guess I hafta stay on the bike…"

He thought some more, turned down a couple of streets, and easily rolled off into a dark alley.

He sat, laid his bike carefully down, and proceeded to plan out his next moves.

It would be tough. After all, it's Makunouchi we're talking about.

"Yosh! I must do my best! My plan will not fail!"

A hand grabbed him by the collar.

"Yo…Sendo." A threatening voice muttered his name. "It's been a while, hasn't it? Oh, looks like you're injured, too; sorry about the punches that are about to get pounded into your wound."

Send looked straight up into the offender's face.

"Wanna die, clown?" There were no qualms. He simply said it. Calmly. With such a violent tone of calmness that the clown in question backed off immediately. He said it with such utter normalcy that he might have been commenting on the weather. With such utter normalcy…

_That showed he actually meant it._

It was about thirty minutes later when the clown came back with friends and weapons.

"Sooo. Sendo-kun. Looks like even you won't be able to survive this particular fight. I mean, you're wounded like none other, ne?" The clown smirked. "If you apologize…then I might let you off the hook."

Sendo started. Apologize?

"What the hell did I do to you?"

The clown was obviously insulted. "Don't you remember? You kind of…"

He paused. He didn't want to say, then. Must've been one of the thugs Sendo had trashed before he became a boxer with fighting etiquette.

"...It's fine. I ain't gonna apologize, so I don't need to know what I did to you."

The thugs closed in around him in a circle. There were at least fifteen of them, and they all had weapons like steel pipes and knives.

Sendo decided that this was not the place to be. With a wound like his, they could just tap it and he would be out.

He covered his wound with both his arms.

They had just started hitting him in the gut when a voice came out of nowhere. It was polite but strained with anger.

"Excuse me, that man is injured."

They paid no attention to him. Bad idea. You don't get Makunouchi angry. I've seen his fists destroy boxers with that look in his eye…

They started paying attention really quickly when Ippo decided to get serious.

All of a sudden, one of their men was down. Then another and another. After the third fell, the whole group turned around and said simultaneously:

"Aaaah?"

They hefted their weapons, and charged. Foolish pretense. Makunouchi's fist was waiting for them, and I daresay it hurts much worse with no gloves.

It was really amazing, though. The thugs with steel pipes went first. They were a bit surprised when the metal bent to the force of Ippo's knuckles. With the knives, Ippo expertly knocked their offending hands away, with a follow up punch to the stomach. It was amazing how quickly he moved. One after the other, instantly floored. The clown was the last one left, and he decided to put a gun to Ippo's temple, his hands violently shaking.

A gun.

To Ippo's temple.

That's cheating.

You can't fight against a gun.

More importantly, Ippo can't possibly dodge.

More importantly, if he doesn't dodge and if the gun fires, then…

_Makunouchi Ippo will die._

All I remembered was that I felt a lot of pain as I stood up and kicked that fool's arm so hard and out of the way he couldn't possibly shoot Makunouchi. I don't remember anything after that, but apparently that guy ended up in the hospital for a month after I was done with him.

Ippo, thank god, was unhurt by the gun.

By me… well, that was another matter.

At first he was chewing me out for running off with my injury and whatnot, with a goofy smile on his face. Then the tables turned, with a single word.

"Makunouchi." I dangerously muttered.

"Hai!" Ippo seemed unfazed by my killing aura. He was still _smiling_! I wondered why. Should't he be angry at me? Maybe it's because I was just so energetic. Did the tables actually turn?

"Don't you _ever. __**Ever.**_ Do that again."

Makunouchi stopped smiling.

"Sendo."

All of a sudden I felt the tables turning again.

He grabbed my collar.

"What gives you the right to order me around after I chased you all over this city for hours so you don't open your wound? What gives you the right to say that to me when you put yourself in these terrible situations? What gives you the _right_ to tell _me_ what to do when _I_ can't make _you_ do _anything_?"

He was boiling mad now. His eyes had a quality that I couldn't describe. It seemed to radiate a sense of…power.

I couldn't stop myself.

My instincts automatically kicked in.

My adrenaline was fully peaked.

Whatever it was, it made my grab his collar and –

...

End of Part 1


	2. The Fateful Decision

-- I head-butted his forehead.

He seemed very surprised.

What did he expect? With that amazing attitude, what else could it do but turn me on? And what does Sendo do when he's turned on, kids?

What else?

He beats the living daylights outta other people.

Okay, I admit, Makunouchi isn't a pushover. He only let the head-butt in because he wasn't prepared for it. After that one shot, I was down for the count anyway. Apparently head-butting someone when you have an open wound on your temple isn't the best idea.

Yeah, I was done for that day. Out like a light. But apparently, Makunouchi was far from it. What I heard is that he rode my bike with me on his back twenty miles to get me to my home.

I was pretty impressed, but then again, it's Makunouchi, the man who beat me. I know I shouldn't be surprised at his athletic abilities, but… he's amazing. I mean, he seems almost like a girl when you talk to him about something other than a match. When you know him too well and see him too much out of the ring, you start to forget that he can turn into a typhoon of rage and destruction out for blood. Man, he really needs to toughen up his image outside of the ring.

Anyway, so when I finally woke again, Makunouchi was all like, "Sendo, you shouldn't do that again, and if I catch you running out again, there will be precautions taken." And the threats underplayed in the tone really excited me.

A challenge! Thrown by Makunouchi Ippo!

Okay, he didn't _want _me to challenge him or anything, but I'll just take it that way anyway.

Geez, he was treating me like a hospital patient. I don't think I need that kind of attention. He should just go back home and have fun at his gym, and not worry about my well-being. I'm totally fine, and I pledged already t' go totally cold turkey on fighting. I think I'm good to go. And if I'm not, it doesn't matter, he should go home anyway.

Even though it's nice for him to be here.

I mean, I don't have to cook, I don't have to clean, I don't even have to talk to my neighbors as a polite gesture. Makunouchi takes good care of all of that. He's even been helping me with my side job, going in and working in my place at the fast-food restaurant I've been at for a month or so now.

It's great. Everything is taken care of, in responsible hands.

It's like having a wife, I guess, except better, because he does the manly stuff too.

It's really great having him here.

Ever since I moved out of grand-ma's store, I've had a lot of trouble with all of those things. I happen to be the laziest slouch in the world when it comes down to chores and whatnot. Boxing I can do. Making my bed -- that's a problem.

Except…

I know he has family and friends at home. I also know that they all love him and need him to be around, because, well, I get that feeling too, because he's so damn inspiring and all that. If he was at my gym when I was practicing…

Anyway, they need him back, and he's putting me before them. That's just not fair to them. _Family is important!_

And even though Ippo doesn't show it, I'm sure he misses all of them.

And maybe, if I'm energetic enough, he'll decide to go home.

I was climbing out the window when he caught me.

"Sendo! You're not even supposed to be out of bed! What are you doing out the window?!"

Makunouchi was standing right outside the window, planting some green junk in my garden. He was sweaty, unruly, in overalls, with gardening gloves on, his hair mussed up, wiping his chin, and best of all, angry as hell.

I dropped onto the ground and went for it, but Makunouchi was way too fast. Obviously losing large amounts of blood doesn't speed up your running times. In fact, I'm actually pretty sure the opposite happens.

He grabbed my arm, and with the strength of probably ten men, hurled me back into the window. Amazingly I landed on my feet. Well, it was pretty much his aim that did it.

I wobbled a bit, and flopped back into bed.

Maybe I should consider calming down and letting myself heal. Maybe then he'll go away. Maybe then…

My plots were all smashed to pieces in my head. None of them would work now.

Makunouchi had beaten me in his challenge. Soundly.

My only plan now:

Send Makunouchi home.

I have no idea how I'm going to accomplish it.

...

I couldn't believe it. Sendo attempted to escape again! After all the times I warned him, threatened him, hit him, he still doesn't listen! What should I do?

Well… At least he's not listlessly sitting in bed doing nothing.

Then I would be _really _worried.

I'd think he was suicidal or something. That would scare the hell out of me.

I went back to planting. Staring at the window Sendo had just previously skillfully and awesomely jumped out of was not a good idea. Even if he was undressing inside it. Ah! I mean, _especially_ if he was undressing inside it!

Because of course, The Naniwa Tiger was getting undressed in plain sight of the window. Presumably he was getting ready for his daily therapy for the rest of his body. A normal occurrence.

And me being an idiot, I was staring at him.

I felt like I had just taken one of Sendo's smashes. I stumbled backward. My body swung around, so I couldn't see anymore. Heart thudding, hands shaking, I stood up straight again.

I pulled my glove against my chin, and covered my nose. Blood showed.

What the hell? I've seen Sendo in boxers before, back in weigh-ins. For God's sake, I've seen him _naked_ in the shower before at our gym.

I wondered why it had just had such an affect on me. It sure seemed like I had just taken a punch – hell, all the symptoms were there, even the bloody nose!

"Oh well. I must work hard! Gatsun gatsun!"

I went back to planting herbs in the garden.

...

I went to therapy like is normal after a monumental, intense match. My guy is some old fart who used to be a boxer himself. Usually we have some pretty good laughs.

Not today. Today, Makunouchi came with and told him about all the terrible shenanigans I got up to. In the span of three hours alone.

Needless to say, he couldn't say anything. His mouth was agape. Apparently what I did couldn't be done until I did it.

He sighed and began to explain what Makunouchi had already explained to me. I nodded and huffed and then was told not to huff by Makunouchi and then huffed some more.

Once we got out of there, I rattled on, my chains condemning me. (Nice metaphor, Sendo!)

" Sendo, you could be seriously wounded if you keep opening up your temple! You need to calm down and let yourself heal! If you keep doing this kind of thing, we won't be able to fight again! No matter how much you want to move, I understand why you want to move, alright, I get that, but you have to get better, Sendo. So just calm down, and everything will be fine. You'll heal!"

My 'harrumph!' was answer enough.

Makunouchi sighed, and put his hand to his head.

" Please, Sendo."

Again, I harrumphed.

He looked into my eyes for a second, then grabbed my arm. Hard. He was angry, angry enough to allow me to believe that he was completely serious.

His head swung down.

" Makunouchi?"

He was still glaring at the pavement.

...

I stared at Sendo's shoes, trying to conquer two warring forces in my mind. One was my mother, Takamura-san, and Taichou. The other was standing right in front of me, wound in tow.

The first to metaphorically speak was mom.

'Ippo, we all want you to come home, but you do whatever you think is right.'

Takamura: "Get the * bleep * back here!"

Taichou: 'Focus on your training! But don't train too hard yet! You still have some injuries to recover from! Careful!'

And then…

Sendo didn't say anything at all. Not metaphorically in my mind. Not even in real life. He didn't say anything at all about me being there, not even once.

That's how I knew.

That's how I decided.

My gripping hand was met with resisting muscle. Sendo's muscle. I gripped harder and harder.

I made up my mind.

I looked straight into his eyes.

" I'm staying in Osaka until you completely heal."

End of Part 2


	3. The Naniwa Tiger is Confounded

The Naniwa Tiger is confounded. And confused. And excited. And angry. And sad. And happy. And – what the hell? What am I supposed to do now?

What am I supposed to _feel_ now?

We just stood there for a few more seconds, Makunouchi's eyes boring into mine. Suddenly he released my arm and continued walking, his hands in his pockets.

I just stood there.

Apparently I stood there for a long time. It takes a while for me to figure out what I feel. I was never good at that sort of thing; I usually fall back on my manly approach. This time, though, I was questioning all of everything. And when I say everything, I mean it.

For example, a range of my questioning goes from why the world is round to why I exist to why orange and an orange share the same name. I saved Makunouchi for last.

When I got to Makunouchi, after clearing my head of all other questions, like why I exist, I decided to go at it like none other.

Okay, first thing first – huh? What? Makunouchi is staying until I completely heal? Were my attempts to send him away that off the mark?

Maybe if I started a fight against some gangster and won, he would be convinced? Naw, it's Makunouchi. That only works on stupid kouhai from the gym. Like that little bastard I still owe. I need to remember that. God, I almost forgot because of this thing with Makunouchi.

Anyway, filing that information away for later, what should I do now? He's made up his mind, and right now, or at least the second he gets home, he's going to call Tokyo and talk to his family, and inform them that his visit is prolonged. I know this. I know _him._

I guess he's going to be staying at home for a while. But what should I do now? I mean, Makunouchi the Marshal, Ippo-chan the Enforcer, the Lord of What is Morally Right, the King of All that is Healthy, is not going to let up; that's the reason he's not with his family. It's not like I can just do whatever I want anymore. Now that I think about it, it really is like having a wife. He doesn't let me do anything bad at all. He's psychic, I swear. Any time I'm about to sneak away from home, Ippo is there with his broom, gardening tools, frying pan, or whatever else he's just been working with. I even have to be careful when and where I jack off.

In this predicament, I could do a lot of things. I could just quietly sit back and allow myself to heal. Then he would quickly go back home. Yeah. Sure he will. Even though now he's on first name terms with everyone in the complex. Even though he has a ball with the garden outside our window and talks about it at dinner all the time. Even though he gets discount food at even better prices because he's buying from a Naniwa Tiger fan. Even though he's fixing my finances with difficulty in the living room every night. Even though he cooks breakfast every morning in this stupid looking apron. Even though the entire place loves him just like they love me now.

He'll go home because he loves his family.

And I'll have to deal with it.

…I don't want Ippo to go. I realize that clearly, and I guess since it's inevitable that he goes home, I might as well prolong his stay. With any means necessary.

But…

What if I get seriously injured and am never able to box again?

What if I heal, get into the ring, and am beat down?

_What if Ippo sees it happen?_

_What if I get in the ring with Ippo and am unable to hit him?_

'What if' questions flooded my head, for another hour, I think.

Until finally, Sendo the Boxer made up his mind.

The Naniwa Tiger awoke.

I said to myself, " I had better get back t' Ippo. He'll have made dinner already."

I had made my decision.

And you know what? I want him around for as long as possible. I'll go all out in order to keep him for a little longer. He's going home eventually.

…Makunouchi Ippo is my boxing rival. Nothing is going to change that. Even if he's a friend. He's still going to be my rival. In the ring, I'll hit him with everything I got, even if he gets to be my best friend.

Nothing is going to change that.

_We are rivals._

I shoved my hands into my pockets, and started off for home.

Tonight is sushi night. I can't wait.

...

After dinner, I immediately got ready for bed. Ippo had made it clear weeks before that lights out was always half past eight, we had talked too much at dinner, and it didn't help that I was late. Besides, tonight, Ippo is sleeping in my room. He decided to pull out all the stops so I couldn't sneak out anymore. Damn! Why must he be so damn perceptive?

Even so… it was weird, because a little bit ago, this little voice in my head started speaking like him all the time. It's a little Ippo voice, and when I'm about to do something bad, it whines in protest. I named it Ippo-chan.

Ippo-chan was especially whiny today. Any spare, half-formed thought that jumped in and out of my head was immediately discarded. I couldn't disobey Ippo-chan. It was the weirdest feeling. I felt – bound. Like by a code or something. Like those Knights of the Rectangular Table or whatever. Chivalry or some shit.

I kept on thinking about Ippo staying in my room. And even though I tried really hard for Ippo-chan, I just kept thinking about it. And thinking about it. And eventually, I thought about it too much and got a bloody nose for my trouble.

I decided that I was being ridiculous. Ippo certainly wasn't going to sleep in the same bed as me, and he certainly wasn't going to show off his flawless body. Or sweat a lot. Or massage my back. Ippo-chan whined again. I had gotten another nosebleed. Or rather, what had been flowing before just started up again.

I ran to the bathroom, and thrust the door open. Ippo-chan was in there with wet hair, a toothbrush halfway in his mouth, with only a towel on.

The blood practically spurted from my nose. I headed to the kitchen, and dealt with the nosebleed over the sink with the dishes still in it. Ippo-chan hadn't done them yet; maybe he had planned to do them after his bath.

Ippo-chan was just in the bath…

I sighed. More and more blood of man has been wasted.

"I have to do something about this." I smacked my forehead. "I just can't keep going like this. Enough! I need that blood! I have a wound to heal!"

I felt terrible. My head was woozy from the spurting and the blood loss, my wound throbbed, and my conscience was guilty for thinking about bad things; Ippo-chan was going on a rampage.

"Sendo-san?"

I turned around, and then was shocked into silence.

"Sendo?"

Ippo-chan?

"Sendo-san, are you alright? Blood is coming out of your nose again."

Ippo-chan smacked me in the head. Think no dirty thoughts. Even though it was pretty hard considering that the Ippo-chan in front of me still had wet hair, was only wearing that towel, and had toothpaste smudges around his mouth. Think no dirty thoughts.

"Ah, I'm fine, um, I'll just…" I motioned to the bathroom and awkwardly walked across the room, looking away from Ippo-chan.

Think no dirty thoughts. Think no dirty thoughts.

I slammed the door shut. I was sweating like an animal. Hell, I felt like an animal, so why shouldn't I be sweating like one?

I had to get rid of this. This feeling. Oh, and that, too. I unzipped my jeans.

It should've been no surprise to me. I mean, I haven't had sex in a while. The build-up of months has just hit me. Too long, it has been. Sex, not enough, you have had. That Yoda guy from Star Wars would definitely say something like that. I snorted. My sense of humor really cracks me up.

I have never felt this way about a guy before. It has always been women that I was interested in. It might just be because of my severe lack of it lately.

Hell, we're basically already married. All that's left is the service and the sex.

… I don't know.

All I know is that I wanna do Makunouchi Ippo.

And…

How the hell am I gonna manage that?

Especially since he's only staying until I heal.

_Dammit._

I have to do something about this.

Ippo-chan whined as I plotted, but I smacked that annoying little voice aside. I didn't really care if Ippo didn't feel the same way. I didn't care if I had to rape him, I wanted to do him, dammit!

I might want to start healing. And training a little on the side as well. If I'm going to take down Makunouchi Ippo, I need to be in good shape.

...

Tonight is the worst. Ippo-chan is in my head _and_ in my room. He's sleeping right over there. But he might not be sleeping. I don't even know. He's supposed to be watching over me so I don't escape, so he probably is. But he might have fallen asleep on accident, so it might not hurt if I just walk over there and… Smack! Ippo-chan strikes again, whining like there's no tomorrow.

Shit. He's right there, dammit. Right there.

I can hear him breathing. It's kinda soft, but loud enough to set me on edge. I shiver involuntarily. My teeth attempt to click together, but I flex my jaw and don't allow them to touch. Goddammit, if he is sleeping, I certainly don't want to wake him up.

After another hour of this torture, I scoot my little blankets next to Ippo-chan. I can see his face clearly in the moonlight. I prop my head up on my hand, and my hand on my elbow. And I just look. His eyes are most definitely closed. He looks so innocent, and the moonlight shines so that I can see even his eyelashes flutter minutely. He looks so…cute. Is that a weird thing to say about a Champion Boxer? That he's as cute as a little girl?

The feelings that I feel now are the same I was feeling earlier except different. Does that even make sense? No, not really. It does to me, though. I feel like I should do something crazy, like rip my heart out of my chest or something equally extreme. I would, too, except my body won't move because it refuses to change anything about this perfect moment. My feelings? I'm not sure what they mean.

I feel selfish. Just by looking at his face like this, without him knowing. But I don't want to stop. If he wakes up right now, I think I'll kiss him. But I don't think it'll be a violent, sexual kiss. I think it'll be more of a gentle one. More of a thoughtful one. On the cheek. Maybe he doesn't even have to wake up, because I'm already moving. My right hand and left elbow prop up my body as I lean forward.

And then I'm there. I'm right next to him. His face is less than an inch from mine, my neck swivels, and we're cheek to cheek. My hair brushes over his face, and so do my lips. Next to his ear, I mutter the first thing that comes to my mind. The line that so many movies portray. The line that changed my perspective as soon as I said it.

I was shocked. I guess I finally figured out my feelings.

I love Ippo.

I shuffle a few inches back, curl up, and go to sleep.

...

There was some rustling, and I groggily blinked. I saw brown, shiny hair cascading around my face. I felt something soft touch my cheek. Apparently it was a mouth, because the same thing trailed up to my ear and whispered something in it. Something that previously I'd only heard from my mother. I quickly snapped my eyes shut.

It abruptly left my face and moved away. I blushed, and was glad it was dark. I cracked an eye open, and was even more embarrassed. Moonlight was shining through the window, and some of it landed directly on my face. I squinted. How could I have slept with this light in my face?

More important matters came to mind.

Something to do with the slumbering slob sleeping much too close to me.

I blushed. Again.

I wasn't quite sure what to make of the whole thing.

I didn't dare move. Any action I made could include Sendo in the Circle of Knowledge That I Had Heard What He Had Said Just Now. I didn't want that to happen.

I think I went into shock for a while. When I again became aware of my surroundings, it was light outside, and Sendo and I were in an awkward position. At least, I was. He was still sleeping. We happened to be enmeshed together. I don't know how, but Sendo was turned away from me, back pressed tightly against my abdomen… and my arms were wrapped, tight like death, around him. Our blankets and, coincidentally, our legs, were tangled together and it didn't look like an easy task to untangle them.

He was really warm and I didn't feel like moving. Unfortunately, on my arrival back into the real world, the physical contact with Sendo at that point in time in that exceedingly intimate way caused a chain reaction resulting in a very embarrassing outcome that I had to run to the bathroom to eradicate. Thank god Sendo didn't wake up.

Needless to say, I had some problems to work out. I left a message on the countertop saying that I had to temporarily visit my mother and Kamogawa gym.

I packed about three days worth of traveling clothes. I paused, and walked back to the bedroom. I stood in the doorway, and looked down at Sendo. He was still dead to the world, and the blanket was askew. I smiled, and adjusted it. He smiled in his sleep.

"…Ippo-chyan."

I blushed, of course. 'Chan?' When did that suffix get added?

He muttered some more incomprehensible things, and then turned over. I caught a few words, but most of them --

"Luv yew ippo-chyan…"

I blushed even more. I smiled a little more brightly. Sendo was so cute. Kind of like a little kid. Was that derogatory to say about the Naniwa Tiger, Rocky, with a Champion match coming up soon? I knelt down next to him. I ruffled his hair, and beamed for about a half an hour. Who _didn't_ like being loved? Finally, I decided to get going. I had already packed. After all, I would be coming back. There's no way I wouldn't, not after that.

I have decided something.

I want to be with Sendo for the rest of my life.

...

End of Part 3


	4. Visiting Home

I was pretty confused when I woke up.

I woke up in my old room that I was raised in. I didn't know it at first, and my first instinct was to look for Sendo. When I didn't see him, his bed, or his familiar boxing poster of Muhammad Ali on the wall, I paused and tried to remember what I had done the day before. Then it all came back. I sighed. My mother was tapping on the door.

"Ippo, everyone is here to see you! Wake up, wake up!"

I sluggishly pulled on some of my clothes, pulled out my toothbrush, and stomped over to the bathroom to brush my teeth. I assumed that they would wait for me in the kitchen or something. I was wrong. I was assaulted in the hallway.

It was Takamura-san. He barreled into me at full speed as I turned the corner. Apparently he didn't want to wait until I was ready. At least I had changed into normal clothes already. The toothbrush was halfway in my mouth, and I was scrubbing in advance, as I usually do, before I even got to the bathroom. As a result, Takamura-san ran into me, the toothbrush jammed into my throat, and nobody was happy. Well, Takamura-san was happy, I suppose, with his maniacal grin. As I choked on my toothbrush, he decided to pound me on the back and yell at me. When I continued to cough and hack, he decided to assist me and yank it out of my mouth. With my toothpaste smeared all over my face, I must have looked quite messy, but I supposed that Takamura-san wouldn't care. I suppose I was wrong, because he started wiping it off immediately, his face turning red with anger, I think. Aoki-san and Kimura-san walked around the corner, beaming at me.

Eventually I got my breath back enough to speak.

" Ta-Takamura-san. Aoki-san. Kimura-san." I smiled.

He smiled, too. "Everyone's in the sitting room, waiting for you. Let's go!" He grabbed my arm and dragged me off.

Everyone was there, from Taichou to Kumi-san. Even Miyata-san and his father were there. My mother had certainly spread the news that I would be returning.

Of course, I bowed to everyone, and to my surprise, I received welcome home gifts from nearly everyone. Miyata-san had bought me what seemed like a mountain of boxing glove-shaped chocolates, Kumi-san an even larger mountain of chocolate hearts. Taichou had gotten me a practice match with a refined boxer and a new pair of gloves. Yagi-san got me boxing magazines that had new insights on techniques on the new heavyweight champion. Aoki-san and Kimura-san got me a discount card for the ramen shop and a new leash for the dog. (Takamura-san evidently didn't feel the need to go out and buy something; he just gave me a suspicious-looking video.) Itagaki-kun and his sister gave me a book called _War and Peace_ and a huge box of heart-shaped chocolates. Aoki-san, Kimura-san, and Takamura-san were sniggering, and asking which person gave which gift. Miyata-kun asked them to shut the hell up as Kumi-san looked around, with a familiar killing intent in her eyes. Itagaki-kun's sister glared back. My bone-setting doctor was also there, and she was as beautiful as ever. She was sorry she hadn't given me a gift, but she said she would treat my injuries from my next match for free. My jaw dropped open, and I immediately said it was fine.

"Well, it wouldn't be completely free," she said. " You might have to work for it…"

Miyata-kun, Takamura-san, Aoki-san, Kimura-san, Kumi-san, Umezawa-kun, Itagaki-kun, and his sister all turned towards her suspiciously. I visibly blushed. They were all turned towards me now.

Umezawa-kun was next. He gave me a copy of his newly released fishing manga. I smiled, and remembered how much work it had been for us to fix those pages so long ago. " Wow, Umezawa-kun! It's so professional! Ah! I remember these pages! These are the same ones we fixed up! Amazing! There's so much of it! You've really been working hard! I'm proud of you!"

Five minutes later, I decided to make my announcement. I was finished with the presents, stories had been told, and now it was my turn to announce what had been going on in Osaka. I was ready.

I told them about the idiocy of Sendo, and I smiled halfway through when I thought about all the crazy shenanigans that he had gotten up to. I told of the daily activities we engaged in, and all of the dangerous fights we had had with gangsters. The stories with dangerous stunts crept in there too. After I finished telling about me stay there (I had left out the part about Sendo whispering in my ear) I started talking about why I needed to keep staying there until his wounds completely healed, and why I thought I needed to do this. Everyone listened intently to that. They had been laughing before, but now everyone was silent and serious.

When I finished, I returned to my thoughts about Sendo and how he was doing. He was probably pretty angry with me leaving. That note wasn't very personal. Oh well. I'd be home in two days. He shouldn't be too mad about that.

My face must have looked pretty serious, because the entire room was silent until I looked up with a hesitant smile. Everyone was staring at me intently.

"So… I'll be gone for a while. When I'm there, I think I'll ask the coach at Sendo's gym if I can practice there. He asked me before, so it should be fine. I'll follow any training menu you give me, Taichou. I'll also bring along all of these great gifts you guys gave to me, and I'll be back once in a while to visit. When his wound is fully healed, I'll return and be ready for a match."

I looked at my mother. She nodded. I looked at my coach. He nodded as well. I scanned the room, looking at everyone, and they all slowly started nodding.

"Before I go back, though, I'll be here for two more days!" I smiled. "I asked Retsu-san to look after Sendo. We can go to the beach or something!"

Everyone started talking at once, coming up with things we could do.

I lapsed back into silence, and all I could think of was what Sendo was doing right that moment…

...

I was confused as hell when I woke up.

I was in the strangest position, but my blanket was snugly on top of me. Ippo-chan's blankets were under and beside me. There was no sign of him.

I threw myself out of bed, and started looking for him.

See, it's weird because in the morning, Ippo-chan would always wake me up at seven o'clock in this really loud, cheery voice. It was now half past three, and I found some of his clothes missing.

"He couldn't … have left?"

I tore through the kitchen, and stopped. Retsu, that bastard. He was in my kitchen. Maybe he kidnapped Ippo-chan. He was certainly nice enough to him to want to do that. I sprung up into his face instantly and grabbed his collar.

"What the hell did you do with Ippo -" I cut off my 'chan' for the sake of my pride. " - You bastard?!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! I didn't do anything to him! He just went to Tokyo for three days, that's all! To visit his family and friends!"

I released him from captivity.

"Why the hell are you here?"

"Makunouchi-san asked me to look after you for these three days, to make sure you don't do anything rash. Like going and retrieving him from Tokyo. Or exercising. Or picking fights."

I nodded in assent. That sounded like Ippo-chan all right.

I decided to call and see what he was up to after two hours of doing nothing, sitting in my room. It was five thirty, and I was hungry. I felt like one of Ippo's fish and potatoes. He cooked those like none other. So I went to the phone.

I picked it up slowly. As I dialed the familiar number, I thought that he might not even be home. What if his mom picks up? What if he picks up and he's mad at me for calling because he's with his family and friends eating dinner?

My finger paused over the last number, and I seriously considered dialing it. With a sigh, I dropped the receiver back into its bed.

"I'll wait a while and call back when it's not dinner time."

I remembered that I was hungry and shuffled out after throwing on some clothes. I figured that I could stop by my granny's house and leech some food. I hadn't seen her in about a week; it would be fun. Maybe afterwards I'd stop by the gym.

After I visited my dear old granny, I was walking past the restaurant I used to work at that Ippo-chan works at. I looked in the window. It was open, and I saw the manager in the back. I walked in, and all the people in the restaurant all stood up and started singing the "Rocky Theme Song," apparently a song they concocted while I was in the hospital. I vaguely remembered the tune, and smiled at the attention.

I walked up to the manager, and he asked if I would care for a free meal or something. I declined, as I had just eaten at granny's place, (they knew Ippo-chan was gone) and I asserted the fact that I wanted to pick up my job there where I had left off.

He was glad enough to get out my old uniform, and opened a locker up for me in the back right next to Ippo's. He said I could start any time I wanted. I decided on the next day.

My business done with the restaurant, I walked to the gym. Standing outside the large window, I saw about twenty people training. I smirked and walked in.

There was a huge hubbub around me when I walked in. The coach came up to me, inspected my injury, and deemed that if I didn't practice too hard, I was allowed to train for the moment.

They asked me about what I'd been doing. I responded that Ippo had been taking care of me. They were very interested in this. I told them how Ippo was like a mom or a wife, and they thought it was hilarious.

I stayed at the gym until about eight before deciding to head home. Ippo-chan always forced me to go to bed at half past eight, so I always got really tired at about that time now.

When I got home, I flopped down on Ippo-chan's bed without changing into my pajamas. It smelled like him, so I fell asleep relatively quickly.

I wondered what he was doing…

...

It was the second day Makunouchi Ippo had left home to be in Tokyo. Sendo Takeshi had set up an alarm clock so he would wake up at five to go to work at the restaurant, so they ended up waking at exactly the same time. Makunouchi set off immediately to go for a run, and so did Sendo. They were both running at a relatively easy pace, because both of them still needed to work up to the proper level after not working at it for so long.

At five thirty, both of them went to work. Makunouchi hauled ice buckets to his father's old fishing boat, and Sendo hopped on his bike to get to work after fixing his shoelace.

At six, Makunouchi had finished a considerable amount of work, including a fishing trip adventure with Umezawa-kun and ten local fishermen. He decided to head down to the gym. Sendo had just opened up the store, and the manager walked in the door, astounded at the work ethic he saw emanating from Sendo Takeshi.

Eight hours later, at two o'clock, Sendo got out of work and headed over to the gym. Makunouchi had just finished his training regimen, so he took a shower and headed home to work another shift. After three more hours, at five o'clock, Sendo was kicked out of the gym by his coach and was told to go get some rest. He did not comply, and instead headed to the nearest pachinko parlor. Makunouchi met up with about ten of his friends and they decided to go to the beach.

A six, Sendo went home and brooded, with nothing to do, so he went out for another run. Makunouchi was at the beach watching fireworks with his friends, and he kept thinking what Sendo would be like when he arrived at home the next day. The beautiful girl with short, brown hair did not distract him from thoughts of Sendo, even though she was leaning against him in a bathing suit.

At eight, Makunouchi and his friends drove back to the city. Sendo took a long bath after forcing his neighbor Retsu to go back home, and kept on brooding.

At half past eight, Makunouchi and Sendo fell asleep at the exact same time and appeared in each other's dreams. Makunouchi's head fell on the beautiful girl's shoulder, while Sendo's fell on Makunouchi's pillow. They dreamed of what the other did.

They both smiled.

...

I guess I fell asleep in the car on Kumi-san's shoulder. I was pretty embarrassed about it, especially since I was no longer interested in her. I thought it was rude to lead her on like that. Of course, it would be worse to say that to her face.

I apologized profusely when I woke up the next morning to her. Maybe I offended her by apologizing so much. She looked kind of mad about it.

When I got ready for the day, it was already seven. It was too late for me to work a shift on the boat, because mom would have already finished it. I tied my laces and began a run. I ran past familiar sights and smells, and smiled as wind brushed against my face. It was really peaceful here. Any time I tried to run in Osaka, roughly fifty people would bombard me constantly, and it was a real drag to get caught by some 'Rocky fangirls.' I didn't even know he had fangirls until I was bombarded by them. Sendo just doesn't seem the type to have them.

I smiled as I remembered all the crazy things that happened in Osaka when I went running. In fact, I was so absorbed in my memories I ran into someone. After profusely apologizing with a lot of bowing, I started off again. That hadn't happened a lot in Osaka. Everyone knew who I was and stared at me in the streets, so there weren't a lot of accidents like that there. Whenever there was one, the Mob would converge down on the poor person, saying things like, 'Do you know who you just ran into?' and 'If you ever try that again, you'll be dead.' And 'How dare you! He's such a nice young boy! He's even helping his rival Rocky improve his health!'

I laughed out loud. That specific quote had come from an irritated granny, who began beating the poor man with her Herculean purse after he had accidentally knocked into me. That was quite the dilemma. I had to get hit with it a few times while trying to save the poor guy before she was convinced it was an accident. Even then, she wouldn't stop going after him until Sendo showed up and straightened things out.

I stopped running and started shadow boxing. My eyes unfocused, and my muscles relaxed.

I was fighting Sendo.

I grinned, and went through the entire match we had so long ago. I got hit quite a few times, more than my mind had wanted to remember, but my body was quite sure had happened.

Everyone says that my shadow boxing is funny to watch, because I react to the punches I simulate like I was actually hit. I don't understand how other people don't react like that, because in a real match against the shadow person, it would mean a hit. If you don't properly simulate your reaction to the punch, then your next punch you throw at the shadow wouldn't have a chance of hitting the real thing.

After I got to the gym, Taichou insisted that from eight to twelve that I spar.

"T-Taichou! That's four hours of sparring!"

"Yeah. That's right." He smirked. "And for an hour, it'll be against Takamura."

My jaw dropped. I wouldn't be getting out of here alive.

...

I went to work again today. Even though it was just as boring as yesterday, it'll be fine. I'll put all I've got into it and use up all my extra energy that I'm not going to use up at the gym tonight. All the extra energy I would usually use t' annoy Ippo.

I sighed and suddenly felt fatigued. I sat down behind the register and put my head in my hands. Last night, I had about three girls hit on me, only for me to escape as quickly as I could. They sort of disgusted me with their obvious come-ons.

I had been using the lack of sex as a reason for my attraction to Ippo-chan, but apparently I was right with my epiphany – I was in love with him? Really? I sat there some more, just feeling more and more depressed.

"When is that idiot going to get back?" I said to myself. "I can't stand it when he's not around…"

Dammit, if this is what love is, then there's really nothing to live for. I'm being tortured, both inside and out.

My alarm went off. Work was over; it was two o'clock.

Nobody was in the restaurant. The manager had given me the keys to lock up.

I stood up and went to the back to lock up the freezer. The door clinked open, and I yelled at the front that the store was just closing. The lock clicked, and I scooted back to the front.

It was Ippo-chan.

He had a suitcase in one hand and a bag in the other.

He smiled at me.

I smiled at him.

"Should we head on home, then?"

I responded in the positive.

...

End of Part 4


	5. The Return to Osaka

It all started with that video that Ippo-chan had brought home that he got from Takamura-sama.

He pulled the TV out of the closet, and got the VCR player working again. He wanted to know what was on the tape, so he had asked me if I minded watching it with him.

I didn't mind at all. Hopefully it was a really scary movie, so Ippo-chan would hug me or something; though it was okay if he didn't because Ippo-chan can be manly, too.

Or, even better, if it was _not_ a scary movie…The Ippo-chan in my mind protested against any further thoughts on that thought process.

Ippo pushed the play button on the VCR, and the movie began. We were ready with popcorn, drinks, and blankets. We only had two, and it was cold because the air conditioner had broken and couldn't be adjusted, so we had to share.

Since we had both already eaten lunch, Ippo was fine with the splurge on junk food. I kept on starting whenever our hands touched over the popcorn bowl.

It turned out that it _was_ a horror movie. During the especially scary parts, we both cringed together and hugged each other. Until the scary part was over, we didn't notice. Then we did notice, and I awkwardly would pull away. Thank god it has to be dark for a movie.

Awkwardly, in the middle of the scariest climax of the movie, when we were clasped against each other, Takamura-sama's evil personality was introduced to me as heavy porn started playing. Odd thing was, the two actors were both male. And the Disney song "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" was playing in the background.

Both of us tensed up. I realized that both of my arms were clasped around Ippo as his head was on my chest. His arms were around my torso. We were both just sat there in shock, staring at the screen.

Then we sprung into action at the same time. ('Sprung' being the reason we sprung into action. At least, that was my reason.) I reached for the remote as Ippo dashed into another room. I turned off the TV and then listened to Ippo scream at Takamura-sama over the phone. He suddenly cut off, and then smashed the phone back into its charger after listening for another ten seconds.

I snuck into the bathroom to get rid of a problem and turned on the shower. After I was done, I threw a towel around my waist and headed out. I ran into Ippo-chan in the hallway, and he was holding quite a number of things; three towels, a bag holding his toothbrush and toothpaste among other things, and his pajamas.

"Ah, sumimasen, Ippo-chan." I said naturally, with a smile on my face. It was only after he muttered something with a blush and I walked back to our room that I realized that I had said 'chan' after his name.

"Stupid, stupid, stupid!" I smacked myself on the forehead. "I've _got_ to stop thinking of him as _Ippo-chan_."

And it was only seven at night. There was still an awkward dinner to sit through.

Shit.

The dinner was a bit rushed. Ippo apologized for not making any dinner, but I was fine, and said so. I wasn't averse to pizza.

"Whaddya want on it?" I picked up the phone.

"On – on what?" Ippo-chan – I mean, Ippo, was confused.

I sighed. Ran my hand through my hair. Then I smiled.

"On the pizza."

"Oh, anything is good."

"You okay with chili peppers and dead fish?" I grinned mischievously.

"U-um, how about mushrooms, onions, pepperoni, and olives?"

"That's more like it." My smile grew.

Ippo started smiling too.

Then we both started laughing.

When the pizza arrived, the delivery kid thudded his fist on the door like there was no tomorrow. I slammed the door open, which is quite a difficult feat to accomplish, and leaned against the doorframe with my arms crossed. This bastard ruined the mood. I was totally and completely enjoying myself with Ippo when you decided to just be a shitless little bastard and bang on my door. If there's a dent, I'll kill you.

Perhaps some of what I was thinking got through to the little bastard, because he started acting like a waiter. I was shirtless and in pajama pants, after all. He could see my bulging muscles. He could also see my patched up wounds. I think he got who he was dealing with. Someone who you don't throw shit at like a bastard.

"E-excuse me, sir. Your pizza." He consulted his list or whatever it was. "For Rock --!" He paused. I saw his life flash before his eyes and his blood turn cold. "For Rocky, Sendo Takeshi."

"Yep, that's me." I didn't actually say it. The glare said it all.

I stared him down, not moving at all. He shivered like a cornered monkey. I really felt like killing him. Or at least beating the shit out of him.

But then he straightened up in surprise. He was looking over my shoulder.

Aw shit. Ippo.

"Hey, Sendo, what's the hold up?"

I decided to keep glaring for a few more seconds. Then I relented. I was still glaring, but at least I spoke.

"Pay the prick, Makunouchi."

"Ah, hai. How much, sir?"

"Whu- one hundred eighty yen for a large with four toppings."

Ippo pulled out his wallet and paid the prick. I took the pizza. I didn't take my eyes off of him. Ippo noticed.

"Ah, Sendo. Could you go into the kitchen and, um, set down the pizza?"

I shifted the pizza to my left hand, put my right in my pocket, still glaring at that bastard, started walking to the kitchen. Ippo thanked the man and politely ushered him away.

I glanced back, and saw him still in the doorway, staring at me in fear. I took my right thumb and drew it across my throat. The bastard visibly reacted. Ippo couldn't see because he was closing the door.

I turned back around and entered the kitchen.

That mood that bastard ruined could still be forged anew, I suppose. But – _that_ moment was _perfect_. That bastard. That _bastard_.

"I'm never ordering pizza from there ever again. Little bastard. I'll kill him."

Ippo walked into the room, sat down, and looked at me funny.

"Sendo, why were you so _angry_ at that guy?"

I looked away and didn't respond.

Ippo sighed. This definitely wasn't the way to get a perfect moment with him again, but _dammit_! I was pissed.

Then he did something I totally didn't expect him to do.

"What, did you think he was cute?"

I looked at him in utter bafflement. He was grinning mischievously, just like what I had done earlier. He started laughing at my facial expression.

Then I started laughing, too.

God help the man who interrupted _this_ moment.

...

End of Part 5


	6. Cookies and Cuteness

Last night had been a lot of fun, even though Takamura-san had given me a prank for a present and Sendo got really pissed at a pizza delivery man.

However, today I have to go back to work at that restaurant. I won't have much time to spend with Sendo, because I have to work overtime for the hours I missed. I'm kind of sad about it. I mean, we had so much fun last night.

I went back into our bedroom to wake up Sendo, but he was already awake and in running clothes.

"Ready to go?"

He nodded. "Just gimme a sec – I lost one of my shoes."

That was entirely possible, as Sendo had a knack for losing things even if I had made an airtight system so he couldn't possibly do so.

Five minutes later, we were running down the street. We had decided to only run in the mornings so as to attract less attention.

"Hey, what time is it?" Sendo asked. Apparently he wanted to time the run.

"Well, we left at five." I consulted my watch I had recently gotten. "Now it's about seven past five."

"So now, we're running a seven minute mile." Sendo knew the area much better than I did, even though by now I knew it pretty well. I trusted his judgment, and said so.

"…Next time, we'll be running a four minute mile."

I smiled. " I trust your judgment."

We started to sprint.

We were back at about five forty-five.

"This gives us fifteen minutes until we have to be at work, Ippo!" Sendo yelled at me, with that mischievous grin on his face again.

"_What?"_

I stopped what I was doing and stared at him.

"You took up work again?"

He smiled smugly.

"Yep."

I smiled. " I'm proud of you. You acted so responsibly." Oh. Was that too corny to say?

Sendo beamed, and then pretended that he hadn't just beamed. I guess it's okay, then. "Of course. The Great Naniwa Tiger Rocky Shall Always Take the Most Responsible Action Possible." We laughed.

We set off together. I was overjoyed. I wouldn't have to work overtime. We could eat lunch together. Every time I thought about my situation, I found something else that made this situation even better.

I think I was goofy-looking with a stupid smile on my face, because I glanced at Sendo and he was looking at me kind of differently. I kept on smiling, though.

When we arrived, our lockers were right next to each other, and Sendo pulled out his uniform. I did the same. We got changed without qualms right in front of each other. At least, Sendo might have, because I was definitely very self-conscious the entire time.

When we were ready, I opened up as Sendo checked the cash register. Everything was fine.

"Hey, Sendo, if there's a dine-and-dash today, I've got it."

"What, are you picking a fight?" Send cracked his knuckles. "_I've_ got it."

"No, no, you're still wounded, remember?"

"Pfft. I can still deal with a _dine-and-dash_."

I sighed.

"Let's see, the manager will be here today, so if there _is_ one, then…why don't we _both_ go after him?"

Sendo smirked. "Perfect."

Only an idiot would dine-and-dash under _our_ noses.

God help them.

...

There was an average rate of at least ten dine-and-dashes per day at this particular restaurant. Ippo was aware of this, as was Sendo. They were ready to pounce at any time.

They didn't need to wait long. The first culprit took off after eating the most expensive dish, and he didn't even make it out of the door. It was a simple matter to have him arrested, because the police station was right next door.

Ippo asked Sendo if he had a rag to wipe off the blood.

"Sure, I have some spares in the back. Just for this situation, actually."

Ippo took out five of them and brought them to the main restaurant. Just in case.

There were eleven more culprits that day. None escaped, even though one happened to be from the army and another was a track star. With the soldier, Sendo cornered him in an alley and beat him down. The track star was outrun by Ippo down the street.

All in all, quite the day for all the dine-and-dashers out there. A new threat had been bestowed upon their livelihood. It felt great to Sendo and Ippo, because they had enough exercise for a whole training regimen for the day, and they got to vanquish some evil. At least, that's what Sendo said about it later.

They headed over to the gym at two anyway. They both wanted very much to spar, even though Ippo would have to go easy on Sendo because he was still injured and Ippo had been training harshly on his visit to Tokyo. However, the second they stepped in, they were kicked out. The coach didn't allow anyone but gym members to see a certain training method he had devised for one of his boxers.

So they headed back home with raging testosterone.

This pattern continued for the rest of the week. Every time Makunouchi and Sendo wanted to go to the gym, they were kicked out. On the last day, they were told not to come for another week, and to train elsewhere lightly.

Of course, 'lightly' was not the proper term for the training menu Makunouchi devised. Sendo was happy for the organization and sheer impossibility of the chart, and so they started the next day. Another man would have died and said it was torture, but they went through it all with smiles on their faces. After all, they were getting back into monstrous shape, and they were in it together. Nothing rallied their spirits more than training together.

At the end of the week, they were allowed to once again enter the gym. All heads turned in their direction, as they suited up in sparring gear. Makunouchi was wearing his Kamogawa t-shirt and regular shorts, while Sendo sported a pair of blue sweatpants and a plain long-sleeved lemon-yellow shirt with a smiley-face on it.

Stepping into the ring, Makunouchi looked around for a proper referee. Sendo was talking to his coach calmly about how there was no liability issue. Makunouchi spotted another coach, and politely asked him to referee the spar.

All was ready. Both boxers shivered in anticipation.

The bell rang.

Hell was unleashed.

...

It was two hours later when they hobbled out of the gym, bandages covering almost all skin, clothes ripped, blood stains everywhere. They supported each other, with Sendo's arm slung over Ippo's shoulders, and his hands clinging onto Sendo's shirt. They were grinning almost like madmen.

"I call bath first."

"Fine, dammit. But you have to make dinner."

"Deal."

Obviously it had been the spar of a lifetime. All the observers were speechless with the power, technique, and speed shown. Not to mention the attitudes of the fighters before and after the match. At the end of the scheduled ten rounds between them, neither had gone down even once, and the outcome was a tie.

After his bath, Ippo made smoked salmon in the backyard. For the vegetables, he threw some asparagus on the side, and for fruit, he sprinkled on blueberries. Humming, he put a batch of cookies into the oven, and started mixing some frosting.

After he finished the frosting, he stored it in the refrigerator and moved on to the laundry. There was quite the build-up, as the new training regimen he had devised was so demanding it was not uncommon for either of them to go through four sets of clothes each day. He went through two loads, fully dried, folded, and put away, before Sendo emerged from the bath in a stupor.

One of his wounds had opened in the bath, and he hadn't noticed. Ippo was quick to point this out and treat the new cut properly.

"You have to be more careful with these," Ippo stated as he pulled another loop around Sendo's torso. "Especially since this cut is deep and right around your vital spots. There's a bruise really close to it, so the internal bleeding there isn't helping, it's simply adding more fuel to the fire. More blood will flow out through this cut because the bruise is so close, so please try not to move this part of your body until it closes properly."

He looped yet another bandage around Sendo, his eyes closed. He felt that if he let his guard down for one second in this situation, he would start blushing. It was too intimate. If someone else had seen this, they would have said that Ippo was hugging Sendo. Ippo tried not to think about it, so he kept on thinking about it.

Sendo was blushing.

"Sorry. I'll take better care of myself next time." He looked down and away, and Ippo started and smiled as he looked down on him.

"…You were amazing today, Sendo." Ippo lifted his shirt and pointed to the awesome, purple bruise festering there. "This shot was especially hard. How did you manage to hit me with it, I wonder?"

Sendo perked up and looked scathingly at Ippo. "I can't believe you don't remember! I used a right hook to your face which you countered, and as I was hit, I slammed my left into your stomach with all the force of your counter added to my shot." He was grinning as he recounted the moment, and slammed his fist into his palm as he relived the amazing punch he described. Ippo smiled too.

"How about some dinner? I made dessert, too."

"_Alright!"_

_..._

After they gobbled down the dinner, Ippo brought out the cookies and the frosting.

"…Why is the frosting separate from the cookies, Ippo?" There were all sorts of colors, as Sendo noted. Purple, red, green, blue, orange, white, brown, black, and yellow.

He smiled. "So we can decorate them together, of course!" He got out some plastic knives and spoons and picked out a cookie man to decorate. Sendo picked out a blob shaped like a boxing glove Ippo had created himself, and went to work.

"Ippo, who the hell is that?" He gestured at the man.

"You don't recognize him?" Ippo seemed put out. "It's _you!_"

Sendo stopped, and looked at it again. It had brown hair, it had kind of brownish yellow skin with red hands, and it wore shorts and boots that were purple and yellow. He conceded. It _was_ him. Or at least close enough. The odd, black, outlined, messy smiley-face certainly didn't look like him, though. He started to laugh.

"Bwah hah hah hah!" He grabbed another cookie man, gave up on his boxing glove, and went to work. Ippo started working on a star with blue and white. He finished it off with a black dog print in the middle.

"Ha! There you go! _That_ is you!" Sendo triumphantly held up the filled in cookie man in the face of his archenemy. Ippo picked it up in wonder.

"Sendo, how did you…?" Ippo stared at it in wonder. " It looks exactly like me! Even down to the small details! How did you manage to get the skin color exactly right? Hoe did you even get the kanji on my shorts perfect? It's so small! And – that face! It – it's magnificent! It looks – it looks _real!_"

Sendo huffed. "It was easy once I got the frosting mixed perfectly for the skin and I had done the outline of the face." He blushed at the outpouring of compliments at this statement.

"I never knew you were such a good artist, Sendo! And with frosting on a cookie, too! You should probably start drawing or something, like Umezawa-kun! Really, you should, you could get a magnificent job!"

"Aha, aha hah…Naw, it ain't _that_ good, really, Ippo…" He scratched his head. " Besides, I'm a boxer. I can't go around _drawing_. It's just not cool. It'd ruin my image."

Ippo thought about this.

"You…have an image?"

Sendo nodded.

"And you…_care_ about it?"

He nodded again, startled. "Who doesn't care about their reputation?"

"Well, I certainly don't. I don't think you should either. No matter what, this town loves you. If you can draw like that, it'll be just another facet of your genius anyway." He grinned. "Who knows? After you retire from boxing, you could also become a famous artist. What else can you do so well?"

Sendo was embarrassed. Nobody else had shown such interest in his skills besides boxing, so he really didn't know what else he could do. He hadn't tried much else but fighting and schoolwork. He was only good at one of those. He finished another cookie.

"I…don't know. I've never tried anything else before. Not really." He picked up another cookie and started decorating.

"Well, starting tomorrow, let's see what else you can do." Ippo slathered on some more frosting onto a cookie dog.

"Okay, let's do that. What about for lunch, we wait until work's over at two and then go someplace special? Then we'll skip training and go do this."

"I'll write it down. Where do you want to go?" Ippo picked up another cookie and started painting it. Sendo did the same.

"How about that new place with the gourmet European food? It sounded really good. Someone at the restaurant today recommended it."

"That does sound appetizing. Okay, we'll splurge on this for the week."

"Roger. Finished all the cookies, too. Oh, who is that one supposed to be?"

"…It's supposed to be Takamura-san."

"Bwah hah hah hah! Seriously?! It looks more like a gorilla!"

"Well, he kinda _does_ look like one…"

"Hah hah hah hah!"

"…Hey, just because _you_ have artistic talent…"

Sendo put Ippo in a headlock and rubbed his fist into his hair. "That has nothing to do with it!" He was still laughing. "It's just so damn _hilarious!"_

Ippo effectively escaped and put _Sendo_ in a headlock. "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, _bitch_!"

They both collapsed in laughter at that one, and Ippo's arm fell around Sendo's shoulder. After the laughter ceased, they kept on smiling. Ippo reached out for the plate of cookies and grabbed some. Sendo grabbed some of the cookie Ippo was directing towards his mouth in his teeth. They leaned against the wall. Ippo fed a few more cookies to Sendo, then stuffed another one in his mouth. Some red frosting got onto his mouth, and he licked it away.

They began to talk after the Ippo cookie was eaten. Sendo wanted to eat it, of course, because it was _his _masterpiece.

Until half past eight, they continued talking in low voices and eating their cookies, Ippo's arm draped around Sendo's shoulder, both leaning against the wall.

Then they went to bed, Ippo helping the fatigued Sendo stand up by grabbing his arm. They collapsed in their clothes onto their beds, which were right next to each other. Ippo decided that it was okay that for one night, they didn't brush their teeth after dinner.

They didn't notice that they collapsed holding hands.

All was well.

...

End of Part 6


	7. Hitting the Town

I woke up this morning feeling refreshed. I hummed my favorite song, We Are the Champions, while I prepared breakfast. Today was going to be a good day, I could tell. Last night, we had made plans for a special lunch after work and then adventuring. Sendo had been ecstatic about the fancy lunch, and I was looking forward to discovering more sides of Sendo.

I had been thinking about what to do first, and I came up with a few things that Kamogawa gym had done after matches. The first thing that came to mind was bowling, then karaoke. I thought of some other sports that Sendo might like, like baseball, tennis, basketball, and rugby. (I quickly crossed off rugby and put down football. Rugby is too dangerous for the people playing against The Naniwa Tiger.)

Can he dance? Maybe we should try out some dancing places. I found some in the phone book, and made a list. Then I went to the neighbors who got out a lot, and they choe the best out of my list.

After an eventful day at work (there had been at least fifteen dine-and-dashes) we headed to L'Amour, a restaurant that prided itself on it's French food but also bragged that any other dish from any other country was easily made, and twice as good. We ate the cheapest dishes available, and still spent most of our money. We had a great time, even though it was so expensive. There was a band there that sang in French, and every single one of them was Japanese with fake French moustaches on, along with those silly stereotypical hats. I'm not even sure if it was actually French.

We sat at a table for two in the back, but close enough to the band that they completely blared our eardrums into captivity. Therefore, when it came time for someone to order from the menu, the waiter had to have the dish pointed out to him on the menu. Sendo thought for a second after he had gone, and then pulled out a piece of paper and a pen from his jacket. We passed notes for the rest of the lunch.

Once we were out of there, we laughed our hearts out. Then I pulled out my list full of appointments I had made for our adventure and we headed towards the bowling alley.

This day was going to be very good.

...

Bowling

...

It was a match of matches. The returning player Makunouchi Ippo was defending against the rough first-timer, Sendo Takeshi. With all their hearts and souls, they faced off with the burning desire to win.

Makunouchi won, with an almost perfect record. He missed five strikes, but all in all it was an amazing rush. Sendo fought valiantly, but against such perfection, there was nothing this first-timer could do.

Makunouchi declared him to be really good at bowling.

They moved to the next challenge.

...

Karaoke

...

They were in the building for less than ten minutes before they came running out again. Clearly, singing was not a talent God gave to Sendo Takeshi.

They were pumped for another challenge.

...

Baseball

...

Makunouchi had scheduled for both of them to join two teams that were scrimmaging against each other. Makunouchi was in a white uniform with blue stripes while Sendo was in a purple one with gold stripes. Ippo's team was called The Boars while Sendo's was called The Tigers. It was chock full of fated coincidences.

To determine his skills, the Tigers handed him a bat and a glove. Sendo chose the glove, and picked up a ball. He demanded to be pitcher, and the pitcher demanded to be shown proof why this should be so. Sendo sent a ball of fury at a metal pole, and it bent significantly. The pitcher silently handed him his glove. Makunouchi was made an outfielder for his running and catching skills that were quickly developing.

The stage was set. The game began.

It was Makunouchi at bat, finally. After wasting two other players, Sendo held a malicious grin on his face, ready to take on his nemesis. He spun the baseball on his index finger, and twirled it down into the palm of his hand. He spit onto his glove. (The normal pitcher winced.) Slowly, he lifted his right leg along with his right arm. With a lightning-fast arm and a grunt, the ball was flying towards Makunouchi with a vengeance. It was so fast the only thing anyone could hear was the sure Clang! Of the ball hitting bat, the curse from Sendo, and the relentless pounding of Makunouchi's feet along the diamond.

Sendo was running towards home and skidded to a halt. Makunouchi was on second. The ball had landed far to the right, and one of the players had just picked it up. Makunouchi was on third. The ball was flying towards Sendo, and he stepped on home just as Makunouchi was headed towards him. He calmly caught the ball as Makunouchi Ippo slid and touched his fingers on the edge.

The referee was in shock. He didn't know what to call. They had hit at exactly the same time. He had no idea what to do next, so he consulted both of them and told them of his crisis. The baseball teams, which were feeling left out, insisted to know the holdup, and once they found out, they were also puzzled. They settled to call it as neither, and Sendo helped Ippo up and declared that they would now be leaving the festivities.

Everyone was happy then.

To the next adventure!

...

Tennis

...

"How about tennis?" Ippo asked. "You have agility and skill."

"No, tennis is retarded. You have a net between you and the opponent. No fun."

"…It's not like _baseball_ is a contact sport."

"…Okay, okay, I'll try it."

Ippo consulted a manual on how to play tennis, which he showed to Sendo. He sucked all the information in, and was ready to play. They headed off to a public court, but they saw that it was already being used. The two people playing were willing to play a doubles match, however, so Makunouchi and Sendo got ready to play together.

"When it's hit in the middle, if you're on your left side of the court, then hit it, unless it's too high. Try to hit it in the court, okay?"

"Heh. I'll try." Sendo spun his rented racket.

"Hey Makunouchi." Sendo smiled an evil smile.

"What?"

"Let's kill these bastards."

"Maybe 'kill' is too strong of a word."

"Yeah, let's fuck um up."

"…Sendo…"

It was a massacre. Point after point was lost. Tears were shed, sweat was wiped away halfheartedly. Of course, Ippo and Sendo strolled away happy campers, without losing a single point to the idiots who had been nice enough to play against them.

Tennis had been defeated by Sendo Takeshi and Makunouchi Ippo.

On to other quests.

...

Basketball

...

After three minutes of Sendo awkwardly bumping up against a huge idiot in order to block him, the said idiot decided to cheat and elbow him hard in the chest.

Not a good call.

He was sent to the hospital while Ippo dragged a screaming, mad (as hell) Sendo away from the blacktop.

...

Football

...

Groping other guys is not my idea of fun. Football is an excuse for gays to grope each other, I swear. I hate this sport. At least I can knock this guy down. Vent some of my anger. _Damn,_ that guy fell in a strange way.

Makunouchi is running over here now. He's telling me that I just broke the guy's collarbone, and that maybe football isn't such a good idea after all. He says that instead of exploring other sports, we should stick to aesthetics. Whatever 'aesthetics' means.

So we ran out of there like hell.

...

Dancing

...

It turns out that Sendo is a _great_ dancer. The second he stepped onto the floor with everyone else, he was 'lost in the music.'

However, I kind of didn't like this place. There were too many women who were too close to Sendo, and he was too close to them. I was awkward, because the whole time I was watching Sendo I was jus standing there helplessly. After a few drinks, though, I loosened up. I even started dancing. Apparently I was good, because too many women came too close to me.

I decided I didn't like it even more, because I felt dizzy and I started stumbling. Besides, I wasn't comfortable in this crowded, smelly place. I felt a hand guiding me to the exit, then an arm around my shoulders.

"Ippo…Sorry about that. You shouldn'tve have anything to drink there, I should have known you'd have never been to one of those before. I'm…I'm sorry."

I was happy he was concerned. I smiled because of that. But then my smiled faltered. I decided I didn't like having Sendo worry. Especially because of me.

"…I'm sorry, Sendo. I shouldn't have, I know. It was my fault. I just… didn't know what to do. Sorry… I'm _sorry_..."

Goddammit, tears were leaking out. I wiped them away. How could I hide them? I don't want Sendo to see them and worry about me.

Then Makunouchi Ippo looked at his feet. I noted that I was wearing the shoes that I believe mother got me last Christmas. I leaned against the wall. And I sighed. I noted that Sendo's shoes were the ones I got for him last month after his wore out. But wait – why were they so close, now? One of them was almost between my shoes.

And then his arms were around my neck, and his head on top of mine.

He was hugging me.

He might have been crying, too. But I couldn't tell for sure.

"That will never happen to you again, Ippo. _Ever_."

His grip tightened around me, and his head closed in.

So I guess we're never going out dancing again.

...

End of Part 7


	8. The Secret Secret!

We headed home after that. We were done for the day, save for dinner, so I called the pizza place from before. I don't really care if we get the same kid. There's no moment to ruin now.

We were eating pizza in front of the TV when Ippo started talking again. He hadn't been talking for twenty minutes, ever since we got out of the dance club. I wonder what's on his mind.

"We had a good day, huh?"

"Yeah, it was great. Until the end."

"Yeah, the end sucked."

I paused. "…Why don't we just make a new end to the day?"

"What d'you mean?"

"Like, why don't we just make the ending spectacular instead of deadbeat."

Ippo looked at me. "How?"

"I dunno. Have any ideas?"

He frowned, then smiled.

"I think I may have one."

He motioned at me to come closer. I did so.

"I'll tell you a secret, one that nobody else knows about me."

I leaned forward hurriedly. "What? What is it?" Not even a girl back home? Nobody?

He smiled. I realized I might have scooted too close. We were almost nose-to-nose.

"I don't want to go back to Tokyo if you aren't going with me."

...

End of Part 8


	9. Unabashed Discretion

I had completely forgotten about my injury. No joke. Until Ippo mentioned returning to Tokyo. Until right now.

I wish I didn't remember that he would be going back. Of course he will have to go back, but for just a little longer, he's here. So I don't want to think about it.

But now I am thinking about it. Sitting here, right in front of him, looking down at the ground in wonder. Biting my thumbnail. Then the second phrase of his sentence hit me.

He didn't want to go back without me?

Really?

How coincidental, I don't want him to leave, and he doesn't want to go.

"D'you… d'you _have_ t' go back?" I knew it sounded childish, but it was important to me. I didn't care how stupid it sounded.

He sighed and closed his eyes. "Yes, I have to. Eventually."

"…What will _I_ do?" I hugged my knees.

He didn't know what to say, and neither did I.

Then –

"I said that I didn't want to leave _without _you, right?"

I nodded.

"If I leave _with_ you…"

I perked up. I realized something.

"Then we can live together at your mom's place!" I grinned. "I'll join Kamogawa Gym! Then we won't have to fight in a real match! And we'll still get to spar! And train together! And work together! And eat together! And everything else! It's perfect!"

"But…aren't you abject to leaving this place?"

I scratched my nose. This was going to be an embarrassing thing to say. I was blushing already.

"If it's to stay with you, I'll do anything." Maybe that was too quiet. He leaned forward like he couldn't hear me. I said it again, louder this time, and averting my eyes. He leaned closer, and as if it was as casual as writing out a check, pecked me on the cheek.

As I began to stutter and flail, he leaned back, pulled out some schedule or something and started working on it. He didn't act as though anything was any different, and here I was, acting more or less like a dying fish flopping around land.

He asked me a question about our finances with a smug smirk on his face, and I couldn't take it anymore. He could make me blush so easily, and he was unfazed? Well, the Naniwa Tiger, Rocky, _Sendo Takeshi_, would not take this kind of treatment by turning the other cheek or some shit.

I'm gonna make him blush, dammit. Even if it means complete confession _and_ going all the way, I'm gonna do it.

Dammit.

Shit.

Here goes.

He was turned around, working at a table with a calculator he pulled out of nowhere, probably working out how much it would be to get to Tokyo and how much we could spend on food for the next week or so.

I didn't care. I bounded up to him, grabbed his shoulder, twisted him around, grabbed his collar, and put my serious face up to his surprised one.

"I love you, dammit. Don't be such a damn tease."

He wasn't blushing. Damn. He was just surprised, then a smile cascaded onto his face.

Damn. Still not blushing.

"And damn it all, Ippo, I don't care if you don't love me back, I'm going to rape you now if I have to."

That did it. He was blushing like a red carpet right now.

Well, I was already too far in, might as well throw myself in down the abyss than get pushed off.

I smashed our lips together. This is what I have been dying for, for at least a month. I probably went at it a little too forcefully, though, because I tasted blood inside of Ippo's mouth after I ravaged it again. I probably bit his lip. Oh well. It's not as if he's resisting. He's actually responding a little now. Hey, that was my tongue! Hey! Now I'm getting pushed down onto the ground, and his hands are in my hair. Not to mention his tongue is invading my mouth, tearing everywhere. His teeth are involved, too.

He's not really lying down on my body, he's on his knees, leaning down to my mouth. Another inch or so and he'd be straddling my hips.

I'd been looking forward to this. I decided to take control. I wanted more.

I wrenched my neck upward, and my head along with it, and slowly began to get on my knees while Ippo slowly leaned back. His hands were still in my hair. And my body was completely in between his legs. My hands were clamped on his back, scraping his skin through the shirt.

Damn shirt. I didn't want to be touching the _shirt_, I wanted to be touching _Ippo_.

Two minutes later, I _was_ scraping his back.

Twenty minutes later, I had finally gone all the way with him. And I didn't have to rape him to do it, either. Thank god no annoying pizza guy came to knock on the door that time; he'd have gotten mowed down by both of us before he knew what was happening.

The sex was _good_. Better than it had ever been with a girl. Maybe it was because I love him, I don't know. But I decided to never have sex with anyone else in my life, it was that good.

...

When we woke up the next morning, we said nothing, and got ready for the day. We would be moving to Tokyo in two weeks. When we were at the breakfast table, Ippo said in a business-like tone while reading the newspaper:

"I love you too, you know. Just to be clear."

I looked up at him, with a pancake halfway in my mouth. He licked his thumb and turned the page. I swallowed quickly, and wiped my mouth.

"Duly noted." He finished the newspaper and shut it. He picked up his fork.

"Pass the salt." He liked his eggs really salty.

"Sure thing." I passed the salt over to him in one swoop.

"Marry me?" He stabbed his fork into his eggs.

"Sure thing." I cut another piece out of my pancake and stuffed it into my mouth.

END


End file.
